@350rocketmike you guys are making me feel better every minute about choosing to go 2500.
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I??ve weighed a couple of trucks fully loaded over the years, the last was a Ram, about a 2014 model year. ?ÿIt was 4x4 and a V6 quad cab, had a payload of 1700 pounds. ?ÿWith me and another guy on it we were about 20 pounds overweight and we didn??t have the GPS with us.
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Its not out of line to need a 3/4 ton.
@350rocketmike?ÿ
Did similar to my 04 chev 1500.?ÿ Broke a rear leaf, so I had a shop fix, and add 1 left to each side.?ÿ Didn't do anything in the front, but that leveled it out quite a bit.?ÿ Retiring the 04 because of body cancer, and nickel and diming me to death.
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I feel if you are going to charge a premium rate, you can't roll into the jobside in a POS.
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3/4 tons are just too high for me.
I've done a ton of suspension mods to make a half ton truck drive better near the weight limit. At the end of the day it doesn't pencil out. Sure, I can make it work and can even make it last. That doesn't make it safe or efficient.?ÿ
My 2500 has the powertrain, brakes, cooling, steering and suspension needed to carry my gear and a trailer anywhere a 4WD can go. I'm comfortable and safe, and the guy in front of me doesn't have to worry that I'll roll through him when he stops for an animal in the road. My client won't be tapping his toes while I'm trying to limp my rig over the pass with a transmission past the highest temp reading.?ÿ
Every job needs a different rig. I quit compromising a long time ago and I charge enough to buy what I need.?ÿ
It's a long box 3/4 ton for me. I quit doing the diesel engines but I understand the reason to get them. I only trailer when I absolutely have too, almost all work in the country is preformed on 4-wheelers which has gone a long way towards saving the trucks from abuse.
@mightymoe Amen to that!
Sorry it's not very organized right now as I just moved to our new house and very busy but this is roughly what it usually looks like. I'm usually solo, occasionally have a helper but once in a blue moon I have 2 helpers and have to move more stuff into the back. So I can't really imagine going to anything smaller than a half ton extended cab. If the truck goes into the shop and I use my car I take the bare necessities and always forget something.?ÿ
I quit doing the diesel engines but I understand the reason to get them.
@richard-imrie That will make the Lucas electrical work better, haha
I am running a 2001 Dodge 2500, cummins, 317K and counting. Hope it makes it until I retire.
Unless you run super light weight (and what crew does that?) you are better off with a 2500 or even a 3500 SRW, they just last better. Even then, buy a ATV or UTV and use it when you can, the truck lasts a lot longer and the off road vehicles are made for off road.
Starting back in the early 80's most places I have worked learned the HD truck is better and started moving the crew rigs that way.
These days, I have no idea what I get new, while my Cummins has been good, not sure about any of the newer diesel engines, a lot more maintenance and a lot more to go wrong. I think a well maintained used one is just as good, maybe better as far as repairs. I always say a well mainted paid for vehicle (assuming you aren't in rust belt) is the cheapest vehicle.
SHG
Im pretty late to find this post, so apologies if I??m rehashing.
My personal truck is a 2015 Tundra with 5.7. Ive pulled a 10,000 # camper with it, and that was too much.?ÿ
I??ve also pulled a 7,500# camper with it and it pulled that with no trouble up and down the Shenandoah Valley.?ÿ
The cab is huge, and for a solo operation, or operator and one helper, I wouldn??t hesitate to survey out of it. I think the bed is 6.5??
It has a tow mode that??s truly a beast, but gas mileage goes to 10 mpg when you use it.
@drew-r?ÿ
Looking to save some money, I did my first and last oil change on my 6.7 powerstroke last weekend, had a similar problem with a motorcraft filter. The gasket slipped out of the groove on the filter when I spun it up. What a mess when I started it! Not to mention the mess just changing the oil. Had to throw my shirt in the trash when I was done. I'll gladly pay a shop to do it from now on.
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@rick-taylor I will never buy a truck I can't easily change the oil myself. I change the oil after work (previously in the driveway when I didn't have a real garage). The truck only has to go into the shop when I need repairs done that I can't safely attempt myself and know that I will be able to go to work the next day without taking my historic car.
Even my newer lawnmower (2007) annoys me because the oil change is a bit of a pain.?ÿ
You're definitely not wrong. It's a bit scary to think of the guys using a ford transit (the small one that is basically a ford focus with a cargo van body) for what we do.?ÿ
My half ton is holding up fine but I'm sure it wouldn't stop as quickly as a vehicle that's not overloaded. Our Toyota Tacoma feels very overloaded and the brakes are definitely not up to the task.?ÿ
If you're willing to risk it...send your crews out in whatever. There was a local surveyor that had a ford Windstar minivan his crew drove. His wife drove a newer version of the same van (hers probably didn't have the big rust holes in the side of the sliding door). When her tires were worn out he had them put on the crews van.?ÿ
One day I saw their van parked on the side of the road by my house with a wheel missing. Probably major lack of maintenance etc. Sometimes it's not good to leave the vehicular decisions up to the office staff.?ÿ
If your current truck will last another year or two I would recommend holding on to it.?ÿ The prices of used vehicles are through the roof right now, especially trucks.?ÿ The COVID related disruption in the supply chain is driving that because they can't get the electronic chips to keep up with the demand for new trucks.
Just as COVID hit the US, I was forced to buy a new truck in January of 2020.?ÿ I bought a 2017 Dodge Ram 4 X 4 Quad Cab with 18K miles on it for $30K, good find, reasonable price.?ÿ A few weeks later I went to use the onboard GPS system and it wasn't functioning.?ÿ Of course, the truck was still under factory warrantee and the fix was free but took three months. Something was wrong with the programming and there was a computer flash upgrade available that had a 50/50 chance of either fixing the problem or completely disabling the whole radio system.?ÿ The dealer told me that it is best to just replace the whole stereo/GPS system, but, the catch was that they couldn't get the replacement because it was back ordered out of China.
I rolled the dice and went with the flash update and it worked.?ÿ The problem I had was that I had to wait for two months for a loaner car to become available because they had brand new cars in for repair filling up their bays and the dealer was waiting months for the parts to fix them.
While I agree about not rolling in in a piece of shit...but if you roll in with a $70,000 new truck..it looks like you're making too much money and should be charging less. The equipment already costs a fortune..so why spend another fortune on a modern truck that is likely to last half as long as the last one did??ÿ
When her tires were worn out he had them put on the crews van.?ÿ
I'm all for economy (call me stingy) but that is just stupidity. If they aren't good enough for one vehicle they aren't good enough for another.